


Open Your Eyes

by Lunatic_Shipper



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Breath of the Wild Spoilers, F/M, Fi is really only mentioned, Hurt Link, Hurt No Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), King Rhoam is a bad father, Light Angst, Minor Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Pre-Breath of the Wild, Protective Link (Legend of Zelda), Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Set around THAT memory, So I'll stop now, Zelda (Legend of Zelda) Needs A Hug, Zelda is sad, for once I went all in on the angst light angst but still, how is that not an actual tag, it doesn't come up AT ALL but it is one of my favourite headcanons, kinda but also not really - Freeform, no spoilers for age of calamity, not super angsty but there isn't any comfort in here, protective Zelda, she doesn't talk but it's explicitly stated that Link can hear her, that's just RUDE, the sad one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunatic_Shipper/pseuds/Lunatic_Shipper
Summary: Zelda has to face up to the Calamity on her own for 100 years as we all know by now. This is my take on how she gets there from where we see her in those few memories that show us the rise of the Calamity.With just a little bit of Zelink goodness thrown in for good measure.Set after the during and after the sad memory in BotW.
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 6





	Open Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rewrite of a rewrite of a one shot I wrote around the time BotW came out 
> 
> Since the 35th anniversary is coming up, figured I could give this a bit of a polish and a fresh coat of paint and post it on here

"Link! Open your eyes!" Zelda sat beside the Hero, begging, pleading him to wake up. "Please get up Link. I can't lose you as well. Not now. _Please_ you can't leave me too." She doesn't care how unseemly her father would find it to see her begging the Hero for anything. Doesn't have to care anymore, because he'd been killed along with everyone else. Link will be taken as well soon and she'll be left completely and utterly alone. But despite the Princesses begs, the Hero lays motionless on the ground, his Princess by his side. His hand still clenched tightly around his sword even as he lays mortally wounded. But Zelda can see that his grip is loosening the more his consciousness slips away from him. "Come on Link, you've got to wake up." A possessed Guardian starts creeping up on the 2 of them. She can feel Link start trying to stir even as his grip on the Master Sword continues to loosen. She turns to the guardian with the need to _protect him_ taking over every nerve and instinct in her body. So she pushes herself off of the sinking muddy floor ignoring the way her legs shake under her own weight. "No! _You stay away from him_!" The power of the Goddess Hylia, her supposed birth right that has escaped her for so long, finally bursts to life underneath her fingertips, as if the Goddess herself wants to protect her chosen Hero. Feeling the hum of the golden power travel through her veins she raises a hand up at the guardian, the Triforce of Wisdom glowing amongst the light on the back of her hand. 

Her want to protect her Champion doesn't just take out the Guardian in front of them. It also takes out every other Guardian in the area. Not a single Malice possessed Guardian was spared from the rage of the Goddess descendant. Upon seeing that the threat has been taken out she turns back to Link, dropping to her knees beside him. "Link, please. You've always fought so hard to protect me no matter how horrible and cold I was to you at the start. Please fight to bring yourself back to my side." She brings her forehead down to rest on the Hero's chest. Hoping in vain that she'll still hear his heartbeat. That he isn't gone yet. She lays it there for a few seconds before she hears it. It's barely there, fleeting, but it's there none the less. His heart is still beating which means he isn't gone yet. 

As she tries to think of a plan, 2 Sheikah make their way over to her. "Princess!" 

Zelda looks up to face the 2 of them. 2 members of the race designated to protecting the royal family of Hyrule. Looking at the 2 of them reminds her of Impa and Purah, she desperately hopes the 2 were able to get away and are still alive. But she pushes her thoughts of those 2 aside. Link _has_ to be the priority right now. "Quickly. Help me take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection." 

The 2 Sheikah look over to the Great Plateau before nodding. "We should each be able to take one of you there. It may take a few teleports though. But what are you going to do Princess?" 

Zelda glances down at Link quickly as the one of them grabs on to him. "Try not to jostle him too much. And I'm going to return the Master Sword to Korok Forest and then I'm going to go face Calamity Ganon at the castle." The 2 Sheikah share a glance, take in the tired Princess before nodding in agreement. 

After laying Link down, the Sheikah work in removing Link of his tunic and items to allow the Shrine to work as fast as possible, but they have to alter the speed of which it heals him or else the Calamity will notice and send it's minions out here to destroy the Shrine and finish Link off once and for all. So Zelda knows as she looks down at Link's wound, that he's going to be here for a long time. "Thank you for your help. But I implore you to leave. You've done all you can. You've more than fulfilled your duty. So please, protect yourselves and live on." 

The 2 nods in unison before heading for the mouth of the cave, allowing their Princess one last moment with her Hero before she sets out herself. After taking a deep breath, she sits herself on the edge of the chamber where Link lays. "I know you'll come back to me. I don't know how long it will take you. But I know you will. You've never been able to leave me unprotected for long. All I can do for now, is have faith and pray that your recovery will be quick." She places a gentle kiss on his forehead before standing up. "Farewell, Link." On her way out of the cave, she deposits the Sheikah slate on the pedestal. Knowing it will be of more use to him in the future than it is to her now. When she reaches the edge of the cave, she glances back at the motionless Hero, before tightening her grip on the sword and leaving. 

Clutching the Master Sword tightly to her chest, she makes it through the Lost Woods without being turned around. The sword instructs her on where and when to turn by humming slightly in her hand. She can't hear it's voice, not like Link can, but the sword is resonating with the blood of the Goddess Hylia that flowed through her veins. So she was able to understand basic prompts that it sends to her. When she takes her first few steps in to the Deku Tree's realm, she holds the sword out in front of her. "Thank you." She whispers to it, smiling when it buzzes again in her hold. 

When she looks up from the sword, the Deku Tree is staring down at her. "You look lost child." 

Zelda finishes walking forwards, stepping up to the Master Swords plot. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this, Great Deku Tree. I came to return the Master Sword to it's pedestal." 

The living tree stays silent for a few seconds. "And what of link, the sword's Master?" 

Zelda forces herself to take a deep breath. "He's healing. He was reckless. Link saved me but pushed himself past his limits and got mortally wounded as a result." 

She kneels before the pedestal and lays the sword down upon it. Placing her hands together, she laces her fingers and closes her eyes. Zelda has prayed to Hylia many times. But this is the first time that it feels like she's being _listened_ to, and that has nothing to do with the presence of the Deku Tree watching her silently. She prays to Hylia and the   
Goddesses of the Triforce, asking them to watch over Link as he heals and to allow him to once again reclaim his sword. After unlacing her fingers, she stands up slowly. Looking up at the Deku Tree after taking one last glance at her Hero's sword. "Please. When he comes to retrieve what is rightfully his, tell him I will be waiting for him." 

The Deku Tree accepts the task without fuss. "I will. And I wish you luck on your own task, Princess. May Hylia smile upon you." 

Zelda smiles up at him sadly. "Thank you. I must be going now." With that she leaves Korok Forest behind, Link's sword resting in the only place it belongs other than it's Master's hand. 

When Zelda makes her return to Hyrule Castle, to her _home_ , she does so alone. No sword, no Champions by her side and for the first time in what feels like an eternity, no Link. No Hero walking in front of her to make sure she won't get attacked by an enemy. No bodyguard trailing behind her pretending to be giving her the space she wants despite the fact they both know he's more than close enough to be at her side in a second should something happen. 

She's been alone for a few hours now. But it's only as she stares up at the ruins of her home, does she truly start to feel it. Now, she truly is, the Heir to a throne of nothing. She can still hear the harsh tone her father used as he spoke to her that day, can still feel Link's phantom presence behind her, but it's all in her head. Because the voice she is hearing is gone, never to be heard again. And the presence she can feel is hundreds of miles away still on the brink of death. 

But her mind is made up, she may be alone right now, but Link will come back to her. And she's going to hold the Calamity in place until he does. So she reaches out her hand, stretching it out towards the castle. "Ganon! I will not let you run free in my Kingdom!" The Calamity's roar is ear piercing as the swirls of Malice swoop down to the golden Princess. The Princess who still doesn't truly understand her newly awakened powers. But she refuses to back down, so she reaches deep down for the glowing ball of power that Hylia has bestowed upon her and releases whatever flimsy hold she currently has on it. Allowing the power to escape her and flood Hyrule Field in a bright golden light, just as it had on the plane. Zelda herself doesn't know what happens next, all she knows is that one second she's stood in Hyrule Field about to stand up to the Calamity, the next she's locked in the Sanctum at the heart of Hyrule Castle locked together with Calamity Ganon. 

'Please hurry Link, you're our only hope.' 

With the Princesses final plea, the 3 bearers of the Triforce were once again engaged in battle. The souls of Demise, Hylia and Chosen Hero are irreversibly intertwined. But with the era of God's past, Demise became Ganondorf or the beastly Ganon. While Hylia became Zelda. But the Chosen Hero never changed. He was always a mortal, born with the power and blessing of the Triforce of Courage and guided by the voice inside the Master Sword. The only remaining relic of a bygone era. The last servant of the Goddess Hylia besides the soul of the Chosen Hero. But with only 2 souls, 2 pieces in play, they were at a stalemate. The third piece needed to re-enter the play before the final act could start. The newly awakened Zelda wouldn't be able to take out the Calamity on her own, she would need their third to destroy the body first. But it would be a long time before that could happen. So Zelda focused her attention on the Calamity instead of Link. Wanting to ensure Ganon's Malice does as little damage to her people and their homes as possible. 

Before either of the mortal Gods have realised it, 100 years have passed. And the Hero has been healed. Their third is finally ready to re-enter the battle.

~~ 

"Open your eyes.... Wake up, Link." 

**Author's Note:**

> There's a few bits in here I'm really proud of. One of the is the ending (specifically that bit that goes in to reincarnation even though it doesn't *really* make sense but I wrote it and loved it so much I couldn't bring myself to delete it) 
> 
> The other one is the bit where she's walking up to Hyrule Castle, I *loved* getting to use that line and then explaining how it started to affect her in that moment.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it


End file.
